


It's a Long Story

by Pastel_Teacups



Category: Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-21
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-09 01:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/768423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pastel_Teacups/pseuds/Pastel_Teacups
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Bond had always thought his charm and sexiness would prevail and get him anybody he wanted. But, that isn't true for his Quartermaster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago while I was on a two-week vacation, and I had to buy a new notebook to complete it. I HANDWROTE this. Just lettin' you know that. Hope you enjoy!

It was complicated. One would never have assumed that the infamous James Bond wouldn't know how to ask his Quartermaster on a real, proper date. Try as he may, he never had to ask a person out to a romantic dinner. So, after consulting Eve about the topic, who said that Q would much rather prefer being at home than at a restaurant, suggested he invite him over for dinner at his flat. 

"You can cook, can't you?" She asked dubiously when she suggested it. Bond gave her a look of partial denial and nodded. 

"Of course I can cook." Eve simply raised an eyebrow, before turning back to her paperwork. 

So, finally, he walks into Q-branch the very next day to ask the man. 

"Do you want to have dinner with me? At my place. I'm-ah-cooking." He says. 

Q looks at him, his fingers curling over the hard drive he was picking at with a screwdriver only moments ago. He stares up at Bond, unreplying for far to long, and James inwardly wonders if he's broken the younger boy, before Q finally blinks and nods slowly. 

"Right. Of course." He said curtly, and James has another nagging feeling that he broke Q, before scrawling his address on a piece of paper, and walking out of Q-Branch. "Say, six o'clock?"  
\--  
Q hesitates, his fist halfway to the door. He wants to have dinner with 007, he does, but he knows that anyone James Bond sleeps with either died, disappears, or is easily forgotten. 

And that's something Q knows he won't be able to bear. 

Q had been in a total of two relationships in his life, and both had been abusive. Things they said still lingered in his head some days, causing migraines and even breakdowns on bad days. R had to lock down Q-branch on three occasions when the remarks came back to haunt him. 

He shook his head quickly. Bond couldn't forget him, right? He was seconds away from turning around and leaving, when the door opened and James Bond appeared in front of him.

"How long have you been standing out here?" He asks, amusement passing over his face. Q lowers his fist quickly and shrugged. 

"Not too long." Q says. Bond suddenly grows serious, reaching a hand out to wipe away a tear Q hadn't noticed. 

So much for being positive about the evening. 

Bond didn't mention it. He only shot Q a suspicious look for a fraction of a second, before moving aside and beckoning Q into the flat. 

He was surprised to see how normal everything was. Then again, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. 

"Sit, please." James said, nodding at the sofa. It was a uniform grey, and looked quite uncomfortable. James took his parka, revealing his cardigan along with the proof that he'd come straight from MI6 (as if his hair wasn't proof enough). 

"Do you ever leave your office?" Bond asks teasingly as Q attempts to settle on the sofa. 

"Occasionally. I've gotta feed the cat sometime," Q replies, turning and watching James as he returns to the kitchen. 

"You have a cat?" James asks, raising an eyebrow.   
\---  
The night went on, the dinner was delicious, and the two got on surprisingly well. Q was almost surprised when James had offered to walk him home. Q had somehow suspected that the man would make a mad attempt to get Q into bed with him. It wouldn't have gone very far. Q would have ran off or exert the small amount of violence one of his build can manage. Nevertheless, they walked through the street together, until James finally took Q's hand in his. 

They finally reached Q's flat, where James smiled and thanked him. 

"Thank you," Q replied feeling heat rise to his face as Bond presses a kiss to his cheek. 

It seemed that Bond had found his new mission.


	2. Past Times

Eve starts the rumor first that Q and James had become an item, a rumor that couldn't exactly be denied. Since their first date, the pair had spent quite a bit of time together. At one point, Even walked into Q's flat to find him, James, and Q's beloved cat, Persephone, curled up together on the couch. After making quite a scene and threatening to shoot Bond again, Q finally told Eve that nothing had happened, he promised, with the exception of kissing. Even made a show of making Q promise, before smiling and kindly laughing when Q's over-possessive cat hisses when James makes an attempt to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, scratching Bond's forearm and crawling onto his lap, purring as Q laid a hand on her back and scolded James for being "mean to the poor thing." James replied that he was being bullied by a bloody cat, but softens when Q leans his head on Bond's shoulder. Eve almost hates to break up the party, but R had sent her to get Q, who was late. Q's eyes widen at this and he nearly jumps up and runs about the house, changing out of his ridiculously funny flannel pajamas and pulling on a cardigan as he manages to grab his bag, finish zipping up his parka, kiss James on the cheek, and pat Persephone on the head in one fluid motion before he goes out the door. James is still sitting on the couch with the now-masterless Persephone, who immediately pounces onto the agent's chest and stays there, digging her claws into his skin when he makes a rather feeble attempt to stand, and purrs when James finally sits down and lays a hand on her. Eve gives a coy smile to Bond that tells her exactly what she's thinking. "Now don't go spreading this around--" But he's too late, Eve is already out the door.   
\--  
There's one day where James calls Q's house phone at night, and nobody picks up. When he goes over, he finds that Q isn't home, only Persephone, who latches onto his leg when he tries to leave. So, he has not real choice but to that the damn thing to MI6 with him. So, he carries a cat though the empty hallways of Q-branch, finally locating the Quartermaster in his office, typing away at his laptop. When James looks at his watch, it reads three o'clock in the morning. "You should be sleeping." The voice makes Q jump. He watches Persephone with glazed eyes as she nearly rolls out of James' arms and onto Q's desk. "I have work to do," Q says quickly, shaking his head. "Sleep is more important." James replies, stepping in front of Q's laptop to obscure his view. "You need to sleep." Q slumps in his chair, his head falling onto the agent's stomach, as he closes his eyes. James picks Q up, carefully, kissing his forehead as Q twines his arms around his neck. Persephone jumps onto Q's lap, followed by a muffled groan and "bloody cat," from Q, marking the first time Q had ever spoken poorly of his beloved cat.  
\--   
When Q wakes up, he feels much better about mornings and curls up in Bond's embrace, wishing it could stay like this forever.

A short while later, he hears Bond stir. "James?" 

"Hmm?" He asks, yawning. 

"I think we should move in together."

James is by now fully awake, and sits up. "Why?" 

Q almost bursts into tears. He didn't want to. He wanted to forget Q and all they'd done together. He wanted to forget him on every level possible, and leave him with nothing. Empty. 

"Q?" James says, watching as Q's eyes fill with unshed tears. "It's alright. I want to move in together," He says, pulling the boy to his chest. "Q, tell me what's wrong." He says gently, wanting nothing more in the world in that moment than to make Q better. 

It takes another ten minutes and a cup of tea for Q to finally tell him about Mathew and Xavier. 

Mathew was kind at times, but had a terrible temper, and terrible things happened when grew angry. 

It started with breaking things. Q would cringe and try to stare at the telly while Mathew yelled and broke glasses that Q cleaned up later, once Mathew locked himself in their room for the night. Q took the sofa those nights.

Then came one day that Mathew punched him in the eye. He plead forgiveness after the rage had siphoned, and Mathew stepped out of the room to find Q nursing his first (and certainly not last) black eye in the relationship. Q, naive as he was, took it in stride, figuring it really was an accident. 

It only got worse from there. Q was abused, hit, and some nights knocked unconscious, only to be apologized profusely to the next morning. 

And one night, Mathew slammed him against the wall and raped Q. He cried, begged, even pleaded, until Mathew finally locked himself in his room. 

Q left that night. 

Then came Xaver. He was dangerous from the beginning, and looking back on it, Q couldn't remember what he saw in him. 

He was abused and used in abused in every way on a daily basis. He knew he couldn't leave, Xaver would find him. 

Upon joining MI6, Q met Eve and they became fast friends, though when Q came to work with a black eye and a limp, she put the pieces together. That very night, an extraction team arrived and Xaver was taken to prison without trial. Q was given his own flat and gradually healed. 

James looked at Q with the pity he saw on Eve's face when he told her. They're not so different, after all. "I didn't know," He says, wrapping his arms around him. 

"I would never do that to you," James says after a moment. Q nods. 

"I believe you," 

And it suddenly dawns on Q that he believes him.


	3. Meeting the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to include Bond!Lock into my fandoms, but this is Bondlock. Just a heads up.

Q moves into James flat a week later, and Eve helps as Q packs away away his endless collections of cardigans into a case. 

"How many cardigans do you need, Q?" Eve asks as she folds a soft mahogany-colored cardigan up. 

"I do not have too many," Q argues.

"You're in denial," James says from the corner, where he's taking the sheets off the bed. 

"I am not," 

"Like a drug addict when they say they can stop whenever they like," Eve agrees. 

"Untrue." Q says, shaking his head.

"Prove it, then," Eve says, smirking. "Don't wear a single cardigan for two weeks." 

The challenge hangs in the air for a moment, before Q shakes his head. "Now, that's just ridiculous," He says. "What would I wear?" 

James laughs, and Eve shakes her head slowly.  
\--  
James makes a mental list of all the unlikely thing he learns about Q:

-He has an undying love for cats (particularly, his cat.)  
-Not only does he love cardigans, but sweaters as well  
-He reads (when not attached to that "bloody laptop," as James refers to it.  
-He has a Doctor Who problem  
And, most surprising of all,  
-He has two older brothers, the Holmes.'

How he learned that is one of Q's favorite stories, and Bond's tragedy.  
\--  
"My brothers what to meet you," Q said one evening, curled up on the sofa with his head on James' shoulder. 

"You've got brothers?" He'd said. 

Q nodded. "Unfortunately. They're a bit protective. They don't know about the other two," He'd supplied before James could ask. 

"I'd love to meet them," James smiled. 

"Careful what you wish for," Q mumbled. "Mycroft's having a dinner tomorrow night." 

"Will you be dressing up? As in, not a cardigan?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Q smiled. "No." He said. "The Holmes men never dress more than usual. Except for funerals." 

James gave a smile and kissed Q's forehead.  
\--  
Meeting Mycroft was undoubtedly the most awkward moment of James Bond's life, and Q saw that as he took a seat across from them, next to Sherlock. He'd always been the most protective of the two towards Q. 

Q can hardly remember it, but Mother always brought up the fact that when Sherlock was ten and Q was one, Sherlock went through his "pirate faze," and Q was inexplicably names first mate. And they'd been inseparable until Sherlock became a drug addict, and Q got much too involved with the wrong people. 

Q watched James make polite conversation with Mycroft, before sitting down next to Q looking like he'd sen a ghost and settling an arm around Q. Sherlock looked a alert for a fraction of a second, before returning to looking bored. Evidence that he and Mycroft had no doubt looked at his files.

"Bond. James Bond." He had said to Sherlock when they'd first arrived, offering a hand. Sherlock shook it with what could almost be labeled as a smile. 

"Sherlock Holmes," He replied easily. It seems that the two will get along easily, until Sherlock reopens his mouth. Q winces before the words leave his bother's lips.

"So you're MI6's dog?" 

Q bites his lip. Bond glances at Q. Sherlocks looks bored as he takes in the scene. 

"I suppose so, yes." James finally said, his hand around Q's wait tightening considerably. Sherlock looks surprised. That wasn't what people normally said.  
\--  
Dinner was nearly unbearable. John and DI Lestrade arrived, and the party almost immediately seperated, into three groups. 

James, John, and Greg team up, trying to get their Holmes men to actually socialize. No such luck arose, however, until dinner. 

That was when all hell broke loose. 

"Q," Mycroft, said halfway through the appetizer, cutting off the silence. 

"Hmm?" Q asked, looking up from picking at his food.

"You've been dating less than respectable men lately; I want to know why." 

Q stares at him vacantly for a moment, before shrugging and returning his gaze to his untouched food. "Got involved with the wrong people." 

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Sherlock asked, in a voice that sounded like it was trying quite hard to stay controlled. 

"I didn't want you to worry," Q mumbles, blindly finding Bond's hand under the table. 

"We worry about you. It's our job." Mycroft said. 

"Q, you didn't deserve what happened to you," Sherlock says, portraying that he was gripping John's hand just as hard as he was gripping John's hand as hard as he was gripping Bond's. 

"I know," Q says quietly. 

They'd never been one for sentiment, but that night they were. 

"Then why did you let it happen?" Mycroft asked for a moment. 

Q doesn't look up from his plate. "I don't know." 

"Yes, you do. You have a reason and you still won't tell us! Why not?" Sherlock said, his voice rising. 

"It's over now." Q sighs, shaking his head. "Can't we just leave it?" 

"No!" Sherlock says, standing. Q cringes, and John says something quietly to Sherlock, but he ignores it and stares across the table at Q, who is feeling smaller by the minute. 

"I want to know why." Sherlock pressed. 

"I just did, and I'm an idiot. Can't we move on?" Sherlock looks like he wants to say more, but everyone else gives him a look, and he sits down. 

"Fine." He says, picking up his fork, before putting it down. 

The most terrifying part of the dinner was no-doubt over.


	4. The Happy Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go home Q, you're sleepy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last happy chapter I'M SORRY

James goes on a two-week mission. It could last longer. Somebody starts a rumor that Q will be accompanying Bond as well. And he would have, if not for his imminent and somewhat irrational fear of flying. 

Bond leaves three days later, and Q is left to his own devices. He starts forgetting to sleep, or eat, without James' regular reminders. 

By the time Bond returns, Q hasn't left Branch in a week, and has eaten nothing but tea and cupcakes, which Eve had brought him in a vain attempt to get him to eat real food.   
\--  
"Miss me?" Bond asks when he sneaks up behind Q, snaking his arms around his waist. Q doesn't reply for a good minute, and when he does, he nods and blinks tiredly. "Q?" 

Q turns in his arms, revealing the dark circles under his eyes. "You haven't been sleeping." James predicts. 

Q shook his head slowly. "I'm fine."

"Q," James said. "You need to sleep. I'm taking you home." 

"No, I need to finish the algorithm." Q protests. James watches as he turns back towards his laptop, before picking him up effortlessly and throwing him over his shoulder. Q protests for all of two minutes, before he finally slumps against the double-oh. 

Q is asleep by the time James carried him back to the flat, and sets the young man on the bed, laying down next to him. Q turns towards him in sleep, and James wraps his arms around him, deciding he'll cook something for Q once he wakes up.   
\--  
When Q finally does wake up, the morning sunlight is filtering through the curtains, and Q winces, his arms stretching out, seeking Bond and rolling closer, pressing his forhead to his chest. James is awake, and idly wraps an arm around him. 

"Morning." James says, watching as Q looks up at him with his green eyes. 

"I missed you." Q replies through a yawn. "I was too tired to say so last night." 

James smiles and rolls his eyes when Persephone jumps onto Q's chest and paws at it, before sitting up and looking at him with wide, expectant eyes. 

"What's wrong with her?" James asks. Q sighs. 

"She doesn't like my shirt." He says, pulling off his cardigan and shirt, smiling as the cat purrs and curls up on Q's now-bare chest, eyes closing. 

"Anything to please that bloody cat." James mutters, smiling nonetheless.   
\--  
One day, in December, Q shows up at MI6 in, to everyone's shock, a sweater. 

Eve nearly dies of laughter when Q walks in. M withholds comment, but smiles nonetheless. R smiles and pinches his cheek when she walks by. James teases mercilessly. 

"It was a gift from Sherlock!" Q protests when James sees him walking out of the room. 

Eve brings him a Christmas cupcake, along with an apology later. Q accepts both, and Eve leaves after ruffling Q's already-unruly hair. James joins him after work and takes him to dinner. 

Things could only get worse from there.


	5. Christmas Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mycroft throws a Christmas party.

Life spins on. Mycroft throws a Christmas party-or rather, a Holmes party, which is awkward and mostly unpleasant. Lestrade and Mycroft's work friends are invited, including Anderson and Donovan(despite both Sherlock and Q's protests). And, normally, somebody from the government. 

Q is instructed to bring James. Five minutes after receiving Mycroft's email, Q receives a text to wear "those awful matching sweaters Mummy bought us, because if John's making me wear it I'm making you wear it." 

So, on Christmas Eve, Q and James set of, Q in a terrible Christmas sweater that James laughed at for twenty minutes straight. Q knocks on the door of Mycroft Manor and cracks a smile as Sherlock edges open the door.

The sleeves of his sweater are much too long, like Q's, and they stretch down to his fingertips. 

He looks like he could murder somebody.

"Nice sweater." James can't help but say. Sherlock gives him the dirtiest look Q's ever seen him give anyone, but doesn't respond, and shuffles aside to let them in. 

Q almost dies when Eve walks over to them. Eve almost dies when she sees Q. She didn't expect even Q to defy fashion in such a way. 

"Q?" She asks, scarily calm. "What are you wearing?" 

"A sweater from my mum." Q grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"It's horrible. And the sleeves are too long." She says, looking Q over. 

"Thank you so much for listing the obvious." Q mutters.   
\--  
The night goes by quickly. Q and James sit in the corner as Mycroft talks to his work friends. Sherlock stands next to John all night, casting forlorn glances at the door. Lestrade mingles, from Q and James back to Mycroft. Finally, Q and James leave the party after Sherlock sits down next to them and starts listing the divorces and "recent intercourses" in the room. 

"That was horrible." Q says when they walk into their flat. He pulls off his sweater there in the hallway, tossing it onto the sofa. Persephone pounces on it, and Q resolves to make it a bed for her. 

James pulls him into a kiss, his arms wrapping around Q's waist. 

Q decides he could stay like this for a bit.


	6. The Return of an Old Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silva returns. He brings chaos.

"Bond," Eve's voice rings through the comm sharply, and doesn't sound good. Q types at his computer; the mission had been going well, what could Eve know that he didn't? 

"What?" James replies." 

"It's Silva." Eve says lowly. "He's back."

The line crackles, and Q's fingers twitch on the keys. 

"Not possible." James says, after what feels like hours. 

"Oh, yeah? We just saw him here, in London." 

"Q," James says quickly. 

"What?" Q asks, snapping to attention. 

"Go home, now." He says. Q starts up immediately, turning of his speaker and attaching his earpiece as he packed up his laptop. 

"I'm on my way out now. Eve, where was he spotted?" Q says, walking out the door of MI6. 

"Across town. Should be alright to get back to your flat." Eve supplies. 

"You're sure?" Q asks, already turning into the street. 

"As sure as we can be with Silva." 

Eve obviously wasn't sure enough, because Q feels something hard hit his head, and then there's blackness.


	7. Q's Horror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q is captured by Silva.

When Q wakes up, everything is foggy. His glasses are gone. He feels something tying his wrists together and tests his bonds, ever bad memory filtering back. He sees a blond figure step into the light, and his voice makes Q shiver in the chair he's stuck in. 

"So you're the new computer genius at MI6?" He asks, his tone mocking. "And Bond's newest toy." Q bites his lip cautiously, wanting so badly to make a retort, but terrified as to what kind of punishment it may bring. 

"I used to be the genius. I still am, but that's besides the point. You're going to be drawing your owner to me." 

Silva steps towards what looks like a tray and picks up something sharp. Q takes in a quick breath. 

"Clearly your friend wasn't certain enough when she led you right to me. Pity." He drawls, stepping towards Q. He opens his mouth to retort, to scream, to plead, but a piece of clothe gags him from behind before he can do either. Silva laughs as he draws ever nearer. 

Q stops breathing when Silva gently presses the blade to his exposed collar bone. His cardigan and shirt had long since fallen off his shoulder. 

Silva grins wickedly, his teeth too white to be natural, as he sinks the blade into skin. Q lets out a strangled cry, muffled by the clothe. 

"Not such a clever boy." Silva says, twisting the blade relentlessly. Up close, Silva's face looked tired, months of hiding and recovering obvious. Q didn't have much time to dwell, however, because he screws his eyes shut and bites his lip hard enough to draw blood. 

"Go ahead. Screaming will only draw him here faster," Silva says, tapping Q's long-forgotten earpiece with a finger. The line crackles, reminding Q that somebody is listening. 

Silva withdraws the knife, tossing it lazily onto the tray. 

"Little Q. Always a tragedy." Silva says. "First Mathew," 

Silva punches him in the face, and Q whimpers. Silva had always enjoyed taking things apart. 

"Then Xaver..."

Another punch. Q feels unpermitted tears roll down his cheeks. 

"What next? Bond would never hurt you, but being with him might."

Silva punches him again, this time in the stomach. Though it isn't, Q feels like it was almost on top of the stab wound. He cries out, and Silva smirks.   
\--  
It takes seconds for James to realize something's amiss. Q wouldn't reply to him over the comm. 

"Eve, find out where he is," Bond growls through gritted teeth as he turns down the street Q would have taken to get home. There's noting. Silva had left absolutely no evidence of him being there. 

"I'm trying. Q's tracker went off the grid right as he turned down that street. He could be anywhere." Eve said. Bond heard the background noise of typing and clicking. 

Bond curses. "But his comm is still on? Certainly that has some effect?" 

Eve looks at her computer. "No, it just came back online, let me listen in." 

Eve clicks the button, and the room is filled with muffles cries and thumps, evidently punches. Even James winces at the sound. 

"Find out where he is." James says lowly, through the sharp breaths and screams. 

He's going to kill Silva. Completely, this time.


End file.
